Tag Archives: novel

It’s been a long time…

My Reads, , ,

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted here. The last four months are kind of a blur. I had a very fast turn around deadline for my next nonfiction title, a cheery little tomb about rape culture. I’m also really busy running a progressive political action committee dedicated to resisting the heartless policies of the current administration. There is a lot to be outraged about, but I’m trying to turn my horror into action. That, at least, feels productive.

Here’s something else that feels productive:
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS!!!!

I’ve read some really good titles lately. Put these on your to-read list, and once you’ve read them, let me know so we can have a mini book club!

 

 

Q3: Is POINTE, CLAW a love story?

Writing, , , ,

As POINTE, CLAW leaps into the world, I thought I might answer some questions posed by readers…

Q3: Is POINTE, CLAW a love story?

In POINTE, CLAW, I wanted to explore intimate female friendships and the way in which the lines between friend and lover can shift and blur. Friendships between women can have a depth and an intensity that is really remarkable.

In a “typical” love story (whatever that is), attraction often comes first. There’s surging physical electricity that compels two people to want to spend time together and to want to know each other better. But the reverse can be true as well. Friendship can deepen and emotional intimacy can lead to attraction and then physical intimacy.

The relationship between Jessie and Dawn in POINTE, CLAW is intense. They knew each other as children and reconnect on the verge of adulthood. They careen back together when each is at an absolutely crucial moment that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. The deep connection they share drives the choices they make moving forward.

In my mind, it is a love story, although not in the way you might think. I don’t want to say more for risk of spoilers, but let me just say that I was really happy to see POINTE, CLAW recommended by The Horn Book as a love story for Pride Month. Reviewer Katie Bircher called the book an “intense nonlinear exploration of love and loss.” Read more here.

 

 

Grab Your Pony and Get Ready for a New Book Series

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IMG_4756
Me at six with Jeannie and her foal

I was a horse crazy girl.
I’m a horse crazy grown-up.

Recently, I found out that one of my fav writer friends, Kiersi Burkhart,  grew up on a ranch in Colorado. Together we dreamed up Second Chance Ranch, a place in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where trouble kids go to find their way again.

We are so excited to announce the sale of our new book series to Darby Creek, an imprint of Lerner, coming your way in 2016 and 2017. Each book features a girl and her horse, meeting life’s challenges together. Kiersi and I can’t wait to tug on your heart strings and make you want to saddle up and ride with us!

PL second chance ranch

 Sometimes what a kid needs most is a horse.

 

 

It has been a long voyage

My Reads, ,

photoI have, after 16 months, finished Moby Dick.

I could not have done it without the Moby Dick Big Read (especially the chapter read by David Attenborough) and Moby Dick In Pictures by Matt Kish.  This image is one of my favorites from the book.

To the crazy man who told NPR that Moby Dick was the most influential book he ever read, I say, “You are nuts.”

To Major League, which I watched last weekend, I say, “Damn your spoilers!”

To those of you who claim to have read every page of this behemoth but haven’t really, I say, “You shouldn’t have skipped chapter 94 – The Cassock.”

As for me, I’m moving on to another version:  Moby Dick, a Cozy Classic, illustrated in wool felting with a twelve-word text.

See you in 16 months!

Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch

My Reads,

My reading is nothing if not eclectic since we’re moving from the picture book, Snook Alone, to the YA novel Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch.

The reviews of this book have been stunning, and I picked it up because I’m writing an angry teenage boy character myself these days.  I loved this book for the way it took me into such unfamiliar territory.  It is one of those books that I could never have written because it’s not my world, not my people.  Yet I came to love both world and people and to want them to survive and even flourish.

Thanks, Chris, for taking me somewhere I’ve never been.  That is, after all, why I love to read.

The writer’s job: make alien out of auto parts

Writing, ,

In my current WIP, my main character has a part-time job at an auto parts store.  While googling for a list of metal auto parts that I could talk about, I came across this amazing piece of metal art.

It strikes me that this what I am trying to do as a writer.  I want to take the pedestrian, the everyday, the bin of scrap auto parts, and transform them into something out-of-the-ordinary.  Maybe even out of this world!